The 66th O’Reilly Auto Parts Autorama In Detroit Is Here!

This morning (12pm EST), the doors of the Cobo center opened for the 66th Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Autorama In Detroit. Billed as America’s Greatest Hot Rod Show, the Detroit Autorama is an event that never disappoints.

In the heart of the Motorcity, Autorama welcomes over 150,000 enthusiasts over three days. These car crazy fans come from all across America as well as across the border in Canada.

Running from March 2nd to March 4th, Detroit Autorama promises to deliver some of the finest hot rods, customs, race cars and meticulous restorations North America has to offer.

Of the impressive show field, eight never before seen vehicles are selected to compete for the coveted Ridler award.

The Renaissance Roadster was the winner of the 2017 Ridler award

From the moment the “Great 8” finalists are announced Friday morning, the question of ‘who will win the Ridler?’ is on the mind of everyone in attendance. In addition to the respect of car builders across the country, the Ridler award winner also takes home a sizable $10,000 in prize money.

The Ridler isn’t the only prestigious award up for grabs at Autorama. The Legend Cup – an award that recognizes those who can capture and combine style with quality and craftsmanship – is another highly coveted award available to the upper echelon of cars shown in Detroit.

A feature unique to the Detroit Autorama is the Autorama Extreme sub show. Affectionately called the basement by its supporters, many consider Autorama Extreme as the real heart of the show.

Take the elevator down to the second level and you will be rewarded by the smell of gas and the sound of rockabilly music. Surrounding all of this of course is some of the most unique cars in the entire venue.

If the cars are not enough to keep you around, the Detroit Autorama also features a celebrity showcase. The showcase features the likes of Dale Earndhart Jr, Barry Meguiar, The Dukes Of Hazzard’s own John Schneider, and a variety of World Wrestling Entertainment personalities.

Did we also mention that hot rod legend himself, Gene Winfield will be customizing a car live in the basement?

Admission is $20 at the door for adults and $7.00 for children between 6 and 12. Five and under are free of course. If you swing by O’Reilly Auto Parts before hand general admission is $18.00 and $6.00 for children.

The show is located at the Cobo center, 4420, 1 Washington Blvd, Detroit, Michigan.

Rod Authority staff will be wearing the treads off our shoes covering the show. Check back frequently for updates, we’re expecting another absolutely stellar event.

About the author

Dave Thomas

Currently living near Toronto, Dave spends much of his free time behind a camera at car events, and likes just about anything with wheels, but usually the lower the better. When not taking photos, writing articles, or going upside down on his bike he can be found in the shop wrenching on his 1951 GMC pickup.